Grimentz

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Grimentz
Grimentz Coat of Arms
State : SwitzerlandSwitzerland Switzerland
Canton : Canton of ValaisCanton of Valais Valais (VS)
District : Sierrew
Municipal municipality : Anniviersi2
Postal code : 3961
former BFS no. : 6237
Coordinates : 611 171  /  114662 coordinates: 46 ° 11 '0 "  N , 7 ° 35' 0"  O ; CH1903:  six hundred eleven thousand one hundred seventy-one  /  114662
Height : 1553  m above sea level M.
Area : 58.4  km²
Residents: 475 (December 31, 2007)
Population density : 8 inhabitants per km²
Website: www.grimentz.ch
View of Grimentz

View of Grimentz
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Grimentz (Switzerland)
Grimentz
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Parish before the merger on December 31, 2008

Grimentz is a parish of the Deanery of Sierre and a civic community with a civic council of the district of Sierre and a holiday resort in the French-speaking Val d'Anniviers of the canton of Valais in Switzerland . Grimentz lies at an altitude of 1553  m above sea level. M. and is part of the municipality of Anniviers .

geography

Aerial photo (1970)

The place is located on a south-east facing sun terrace on the left bank of the Gougra River . The terrace was created as a moraine deposit from Glacier de Moiry . The Corne de Sorebois , rising steeply southeast of the village, divides the Val d'Anniviers into the valleys of Zinal and Moiry. The Roc d'Orzival , Becs de Bosson and Sex de Marinda rise above the town . The Corne de Sorebois separates Grimentz from the resort of Zinal.

population

Population development
year 1850 1900 1950 1980 2000 2007
Residents 230 249 191 271 404 475

traffic

The road to Grimentz was only built in the 1950s for the construction of the Lac de Moiry reservoir . Thanks to the regular Postbus courses via Vissoie to Sierre train station , Grimentz is connected to the Swiss public transport network. There are also direct courses from Zinal via Grimentz to the Moiry reservoir.

history

Grimentz with Sex de Marinda in the background on the left.

To the southwest of the village on the banks of the Gougra is a clearing where the 16 megalithic shell stones from Grimentz are located. The meaning of the cup stones is unknown.

In the 11th century the place was called Grimiens or in German Grimensi . Like the whole of the Val d'Anniviers, it was under the ecclesiastical sovereignty of the Bishop of Sitten . Secular power was exercised by the Counts of Granges, later the d'Anniviers (1200-1360) and the Lords of Raron (1381 to the end of the 15th century). Grimentz was the first village in the valley to be constituted as a municipality as early as 1243. Together with the neighboring town of Saint-Jean , Grimentz formed a so-called quarter of the Val d'Anniviers in the 14th century.

In 1798 Napoleon marched into the Valais with his French army. The communes in Val d'Anniviers have been restructured. The quarters became thirds, and the third of Grimentz two half-thirds (demi-tiers), namely Saint-Jean and Grimentz. The latter included Grimentz and Vissoie. This forced merger led to a dispute that would last for over 100 years. A first trial between 1814 and 1824 confirmed the status quo. The second process between 1897 and 1914 finally led to the independence of Vissoie. In ecclesiastical matters, Grimentz was under the parish of Anniviers until 1798. The church was in Vissoie. From 1825 Grimentz was a rectorate and only became its own parish in 1933. In 1830 a separate church was built in the village and replaced by a new building in 1951.

In 1850 there were 230 inhabitants in Grimentz, 249 in 1900, 191 in 1950, 271 in 1980 and 404 again in 2000.

The main source of income for the population was mountain agriculture until the 20th century. The Eringer cows were summered on the Avoin, Moiry and Torrent Alps.

In 1957, the construction of the Lac de Moiry reservoir started above the village on Alp Moiry . The construction of the wall brought work to the village.

In the 1960s and 1970s, tourism increased in importance with the construction of the cable car to Alp Bendolla and the construction of several ski lifts. As a result, numerous apartment houses and chalets were built around the old village center. In 2000 two thirds of the workforce were employed in the service sector.

Until December 31, 2008, Grimentz was an independent political municipality . Then the municipality merged with 5 other municipalities in the Val d'Anniviers ( Ayer , Chandolin , Saint-Jean , Saint-Luc , Vissoie ) to form the new municipality of Anniviers .

Tourism and sightseeing

The well-preserved, car-free town center of Grimentz is worth seeing with numerous sun-burned historic wooden houses typical of the region with the fiery red geraniums in front of the windows. The 1550 built Burger House remained until 1904 in the hands of the community and is today the center of the village. Five hotels as well as numerous holiday apartments and chalets are available to tourists as accommodation. Grimentz also offers a modern infrastructure with restaurants, shops and sports facilities in summer and winter.

summer

Over 200 km of hiking trails are marked in the area around Grimentz, including the two pass hikes over the Col de Torrent and the Pas de Lona into the neighboring Val d'Hérens, as well as hikes to the lakes Lac de Moiry , Lac de Lona and Lac des Autannes . The transition over the Corne de Sorebois leads to the neighboring mountain village of Zinal .

The national route no. 6 Alpine Passes Trail from SwitzerlandMobility leads from Turtmanntal over the Meidpass to Zinal and on to the Lac de Moiry and over the Col de Torrent to the Val d'Hérens .

More than 100 km of mountain bike trails are marked. Including route no. 43 Valais Alpine Bike from Mountainbikeland Schweiz . Grimentz is also the destination of the Grand Raid Cristalp mountain bike marathon .

winter

The Grimentz ski area is located east of Roc d'Orzival and Becs de Bosson and includes around 50 km of slopes. The highest point is at 2874  m above sea level. M. The main slopes are artificially snowed. In addition to the gondola lift on Bendolla, there are three chair lifts and 7 ski lifts available to skiers .

Since late autumn 2013, a cable car with a gondola capacity of 125 people has been leading from the valley station in Grimentz to the Zinal ski area. Thus the two ski areas are connected to each other. There is a ski arena with approx. 120 km of slopes, 2 cable cars, 1 gondola , 5 chair lifts and 11 ski lifts. The Grimentz-Zinal ski area has since been one of the 10 largest in the canton of Valais. A total of 17 km of cross- country trails are groomed on Bendolla in winter .

Burgerkeller

The burger cellar in Grimentz, the one below the Moiry glacier at over 1,550 m. ü. M. is located, develops the largest amount of the well-known Valais glacier wine with 4,200 liters .

literature

  • View of Grimentz with the Bendolla middle station as well as Roc d'Orzival (far right) and Becs de Bosson (left).

  • Grimentz

  • Grimentz

  • Rue de la Laiterie

  • The old part of the village

  • Pierre à cupules (protection of cultural property)

  • Lac de Moiry

Web links

Commons : Grimentz  - collection of images, videos and audio files